Face mask use and associated factors among students in rural Eastern Uganda amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

  1. Denis Mwesige
  2. Aisha Nalugya
  3. Douglas Bulafu
  4. Arnold Tigaiza
  5. Bridget Tamale Nagawa
  6. Emmanuel Balinda
  7. Abel Wilson Walekhwa

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Abstract

Background

The Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has gravely affected several aspects of national and global society, including education. Given the risk it poses, the Government of Uganda (GOU) adopted and recommended face mask use as one of the preventive measures to limit its transmission in communities. However, there is limited data on the levels of face mask usage and associated factors among students in schools in Uganda. This study aimed at assessing the face mask usage and associated factors among students in schools in rural Eastern Uganda amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross sectional quantitative descriptive study was conducted among 423 students in schools in rural Eastern Uganda. Multi-stage sampling method was employed in the selection of study participants. The data was collected by trained data collectors using structured questionnaires pre-installed on ODK enabled smart phones. The data entered was cleaned using Excel 2016 and exported to Stata14.0 statistical software (Statacorp, College station, Texas, USA) for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed using 95% CI (confidence interval). Variables with p- value < 0.20 and those with literature backup evidence were included in the multivariable model. Variables with p- value < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. This study revealed that less than three quarters (62.3%) wore face masks correctly.

Results

Almost all, 98.9% of the participants mentioned that they wore face masks due to fear of missing classes and 49.0% disagreed that they were vulnerable to COVID-19. Students in boarding schools (AOR = 1.61, 95%CI: 1.05-2.47), those who believed that they were vulnerable to COVID-19 (AOR = 1.70, 95%CI: 1.11-2.10), and those who disagreed that masks are uncomfortable (AOR = 1.62, 95%CI: 1.06-2.46) were more likely to wear facemasks correctly.

Conclusion

This study revealed that more than a third of the students did not wear face masks correctly. Correct wearing of face masks was associated with being in a boarding school, belief that they were susceptible to COVID-19, and disagreeing that masks were uncomfortable. This therefore highlights the need for sensitization programmes in academic institutions in order to improve students’ perceptions toward COVID-19 and face masks, and consequently increase correct face mask usage in schools.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.06.27.21259131: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsField Sample Permit: Study design and setting: A cross sectional study utilizing quantitative data collection methods was conducted during the period of March-April 2021 after partial re-opening of schools in Uganda.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    RandomizationWe then used random sampling to select ten schools from the list using the Ms Excel randomizer.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power AnalysisSample size and sampling procedure: The sample size was estimated using the Kish Leslie formula for cross-sectional studies (Kish, 1965).

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Data were then exported for analysis in Stata 14.0 statistical software (Statacorp, College station, Texas, USA).
    Statacorp
    suggested: None

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2021.06.27.21259131v1 on medRxiv